Thailand: 30 Asylum Seekers Escape From Jail

Thirty Muslim Rohingya asylum seekers from Myanmar detained in southern Thailand for illegally entering the country escaped from a jail cell on Friday, 10 days after they were moved from a crowded detention center, the police said. More than 1,700 asylum seekers from Myanmar’s Rohingya minority who arrived in Thailand by boat early this year are being held in crowded prisons. The 30 who escaped are among hundreds who protested last month against the cramped conditions. The men cut the cell’s bars with blades and used ropes made of clothes to escape from the Sadao district police station in Songkhla Province on Friday, Maj. Gen. Suwit Choensiri said. Human rights activists have urged Thailand not to deport the Rohingya back to Myanmar, where they face discrimination.

A version of this brief appears in print on August 10, 2013, on Page A8 of the New York edition with the headline: Thailand: 30 Asylum Seekers Escape From Detention Camp. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe